MARLBOROUGH – An effort to create an overlay district within Red Spring Road is off the table after a City Council vote fell just short of approval.
The zoning amendment had been approved by the council’s Urban Affairs Committee and brought before the full council on Dec. 18. As it was a proposed zoning change, council President Michael Ossing said the proposal would go through the four stages of adoption.
A vote on the second reading drew seven votes – not enough to proceed – so the amendment was not approved.
City Councilor Mark Oram recused himself from voting since he is an abutter.
Residents of Red Spring Road, a private way adjacent to Fort Meadow Reservoir, requested the overlay district to help save time and money whenever a resident sought to build an addition or improvement.
Currently, the residents need a special permit for such projects; as part of the process, the city must notify the neighbors and abutters – all 148 of them.
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The overlay district would have comprised the 29 owners within the Red Spring Road Homeowners Association.
Had the overlay district been approved, the Red Spring Road Homeowners Association would have given the city first refusal on purchasing a 10-acre parcel on Red Spring for open space.
Robert Durand, who just stepped down as president of the association, said the proposal is “still active with the council,” but he’s “not sure what the association’s next step is.”
The proposal could return to the City Council at some point during the year.
